


When It Rains, It Pours

by heartsdesire456



Series: Coulson Family Fics [7]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Compliant, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, M/M, Where Was Clint Barton During Captain America 2?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-05-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:57:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1667165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically, this covers the period from the SHIELD info dump revealing and the battle at the Triskelion all the way to post-Agents of SHIELD season 1. It follows the rest of the MCU characters during all the goings on of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD.</p>
<p>
  <i>Clint swallowed hard, shaking his head. “SHIELD is compromised. From what I understand HYDRA has been infiltrating SHIELD for years. I’m getting my dog and my shit and running,” he said openly.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>She frowned. “HYDRA? Like… that Captain America, World War two stuff?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Clint nodded. “Apparently they weren’t as gone as we thought,” he said bitterly. “Captain America? He’s a fugitive from SHIELD. My partner Natasha is with him. I have no fucking clue where my husband or his plane is, and Stark and Banner wouldn’t even let me in in case I’m HYDRA, too.”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Kate snorted. “Yeah right, you’re too transparent to be a sleeper.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	When It Rains, It Pours

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SO SORRY! *headdesk* This took SOOOOOOO long! But alas, this is it! The final piece of this series!
> 
> ... for now, I'm considering it ended but maybe one day in the future I'll have the urge to add to it. BUT for now, my intention is for this to be the end!
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me all this time!

When Clint got to the Tower, he got as far as the corporate floors before the elevator stalled and a video feed opened on the wall. “What’re you doing here?” Stark asked him. Behind him, Clint could see Bruce running around the lab grabbing files and hard drives. 

“What the hell do you think I’m doing here?!” Clint demanded. “If you haven’t noticed, SHIELD has gone offline and they’re _targeting Steve_ -“

“I know about HYDRA, okay?” Tony interrupted, and Clint floundered. “Look, Barton, it’s nothing personal-“

“It sort of is,” Bruce called as he rushed up beside Tony and started typing something on an array to his left. “Look, Clint, you’re SHIELD. SHIELD has been infiltrated by HYDRA all the way up.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sorry… but I can’t trust you,” he said, and Clint gaped.

“What the fuck, Stark?! You think I’m HYDRA-“

“I think that the last thing I saw before SHIELD went offline was that Fury is dead and all his allies are being considered threats from HYDRA. Natasha’s defected with Steve, you’re her best friend, and I just-“ He gritted his teeth. “I have to get out and I’m not trusting anybody tied to SHIELD. I can’t. Bruce and I are wiping everything and going to get Pepper. We’re getting out of here.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Clint. I really am. But you can’t trust anybody now.”

Bruce shoved Tony aside some. “Look, get to ground and do it fast. Don’t trust anybody you know through SHIELD. Don’t trust anybody you THOUGHT you could trust. Don’t-“ Bruce cringed. “If he tries to contact you, don’t even trust Coulson,” he said softly. “If you really aren’t HYDRA, go to Thor. I won’t tell you how, but if you can find him I know HYDRA can’t take down an Asgardian so you can get with him.”

“Yeah, he was visiting Jane when her _intern_ turned on them,” Tony said and Clint gaped.

“Darcy?!”

“No,” Bruce said. “The other one. He turned on them and Jane had to torch all of her research and run.”

“And we’re done!” Tony said, grabbing Bruce by the shirt. “Sorry, Barton, I really am, but Pepper’s still in the open, I have the tech and money, and Bruce has the hiding experience, so we’re going our own way.”

Bruce nodded grimly. “Sorry,” he said, then started typing on the keyboard below the camera. “Good luck,” he said, and then the screen went black.

Clint looked up as the elevator shook and started its way down fast. It slid by floors faster than he knew it even could until finally stopping on the ground floor. As he set out, the evacuation sirens started and people began pouring out of the building. All in all, Clint couldn’t blame them. If his former partner had been HYDRA (as he now suspected) then anybody could be. Bruce and Tony were right. 

Don’t trust anybody.

~

Clint went back to his apartment. He had to get Lucky and if he was really going on the run, he needed to get rid of some of his markers. He went through the window just to be sure, only to stop when he saw a body on the couch. However, when she moved, he saw it was Kate. “Shit,” he cursed. “Katie, you can’t be here-“

He stopped when she stood up and he saw the cuts down her arm. “Yeah, I noticed,” she said, walking over, not seeming to care she was rubbing blood on her clothes with every pass of her arm. “I got attacked by SHIELD agents on the way to class,” she said, voice brittle. “They killed my dad’s driver and I had to bust out the window opposite to get out and run. I want to know what the FUCK is going on!” she demanded.

Clint swallowed hard, shaking his head. “SHIELD is compromised. From what I understand HYDRA has been infiltrating SHIELD for years. I’m getting my dog and my shit and running,” he said openly.

She frowned. “HYDRA? Like… that Captain America, World War two stuff?”

Clint nodded. “Apparently they weren’t as gone as we thought,” he said bitterly. “Captain America? He’s a fugitive from SHIELD. My partner Natasha is with him. I have no fucking clue where my husband or his plane is, and Stark and Banner wouldn’t even let me in in case I’m HYDRA, too.”

Kate snorted. “Yeah right, you’re too transparent to be a sleeper,” she said, then turned and walked over to the kitchen. “Lucky!” she called, digging out Lucky’s leash. “Lucky lets go walk!” she called.

Clint shook his head. “No, you can’t come with me-“

“I can’t go on my own!” she countered. “Being friends with you is why I’m apparently on the HYDRA-SHELD kill list!” She glared. “We’re doing this together or I’ll _make you_ come with me,” she threatened.

Clint snorted. “You could try, Girlie,” he teased, but walked over and grabbed a clean towel. “Here,” he said, wrapping it around her arm. “I don’t have time to do better. There’s duct tape in the drawer. I’m gonna grab my bag,” he said, running upstairs, dodging Lucky who was heading to the kitchen. 

Clint grabbed his go-bag, his bow case, and his laptop. He shoved the laptop in the go-bag and made sure his bow had enough arrows in the case with his quiver before snapping it shut. He put his bag on his back and did a sweep of the room to be sure. He narrowed in on the photo of Phil and Skye he had on his bedside table and, with a guilty pang, he grabbed it and smashed the glass. He didn’t have time to open the frame. He pulled the photo out and slid it into his vest pocket next to his wedding band, zipping up the compartment quickly. He grabbed his sunglasses and headed back to the living room. 

Katie had duct taped the rag around her arm and had Lucky on a leash. He looked her over and shook his head. “Run really fast and grab some of my pants. That skirt is gonna make life difficult,” he said and she nodded, running upstairs. He heard her thumping around and when she came back, she had a pair of black cargo pants held up with her own bright blue belt. She had lost her school blazer and had put one of his hoodies on over her white polo shirt. He nodded. “Better, let’s go,” he said, handing her Lucky’s leash. 

“What are we going to do?” she asked, following him out into the hall and down the stairs. “Where are we gonna go?”

He stopped and looked at her. “I guess there’s no hope you have a fake passport, do you?” he asked and she hesitated.

“Actually… yeah.” She shoved him to the left instead of the right. “Come on, there’s a safe deposit box with emergency ID’s for me and my dad. I have authority to get in. He knows men in his position have enemies and if he had a hit on him, we had an escape plan.”

Clint nodded. “Does he know you’re alive?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Left him a voicemail before I smashed my phone,” she said and Clint nodded.

“Good. Speaking of, when we get somewhere we can stop, I need a favor,” he said, wincing in anticipation of having to ask her to cut out his locator. “It’s a big ask,” he warned and she snorted.

“We’re running from SHIELD. Nothing can get much bigger.”

~

Katie sat down at the café across from Clint. “We have fifteen grand. A thousand dollars in fifteen different currencies,” she said simply, and Clint nodded. 

“Good. I have a fraudulent credit card with a five thousand dollar limit and a burner phone,” he said, and she raised an eyebrow. “Hey, you don’t work for a super-secret agency without a backup plan,” he said simply. “We are going to get to a safe house I have in Sweden. From this,” he said, nodding at his laptop. “I’d say chances are Thor is on his way to Norway.” She looked confused and Clint turned the screen. “Jane isn’t stupid. She knows that flying is off the menu. There’s a ferry across the north sea. They can get to Norway and then disappear in the Scandinavian wilderness until things settle down. We’re going to try and get to Copenhagen, so as not to draw attention to Thor and the others just in case, and get a mark on them.”

Kate hummed. “Good plan. Except how the fuck do we get to Sweden? We can’t fly-“ Clint held up his credit card. “Let me guess. Matches your fake passport?”

Clint grinned. “Yep. SHIELD doesn’t know about these, but they’ll pass for sure. Meaning that as long as we don’t get pegged on camera, we’ll be okay.” He looked Kate over. “About that… how much do you trust me?” he asked, showing her what was in the shopping bag beside him.

Kate glared, eyes narrowed. “I really fucking hate you,” she said flatly.

~

Kate kept running a hand over her hair, shaking her head. “I look like that chick from Harry Potter.”

Clint looked at her super-short hair and shrugged. “I look like a hipster,” he said, looking at the false beard he was sporting. “I make an ugly hipster,” he said, and she laughed.

Clint had bought a pair of clippers and a fake beard and half an hour later, Kate’s long hair was all in the trash can and he was going to have a hell of a time removing the adhesive later on. Lucky was at the groomers next door, getting a haircut of his own since his ragged fur was noticable. “Alright, here’s our cover. I’m your uncle, we’re traveling to Denmark to give your father his beloved dog back,” he said and Kate snorted.

“Alright, Uncle Robert,” she said, and he grinned.

“Ready to pick up your dad’s dog, Thea?” he asked and she made a face.

“Oh God, let’s just hope this works.”

~

They made it through the airport, the flight, and getting out of the following airport – though there was some trouble with getting Lucky back at the airport since they apparently didn’t have the necessary papers and Clint ended up having to break into the holding area and spring him – but then they faced the issue of having to find a ferry on such short notice.

When they finally got a cabin on a ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo, they didn’t have the necessary crate for Lucky so they had to hide him in their cabin. However, Clint also finally managed to get a message through to Jane Foster.

As Clint and Kate curled up together on the top bunk, letting Lucky have the bottom, Kate sighed. “At least this time tomorrow, we’ll have somebody on our side.”

Clint nodded, smiling sadly. “I sure hope so, Katie-Kate.”

~

When Clint met up with Jane outside a bar in Oslo, the first thing she did was drag him down an alley, leaving Kate with Lucky out on the sidewalk, and around a corner to find Thor waiting there. “Oh thank God,” Clint breathed. “For a second I thought you were HYDRA and I was about to have to kill my friend’s girlfriend.”

Thor clapped a hand to Clint’s shoulder. “Friend, I am happy you are well,” he said in an earnest tone. “What is this that has befallen us all? I know not what HYDRA is,” he explained.

Jane huffed. “Yeah, it was a real shock when the intern turned on me-“

“Darcy?!” Clint asked suddenly and Jane flapped a hand.

“No, the other one,” she explained.

“Yeah.” Clint turned and looked up to see Darcy leaned over the railing of the fire escape. “Really sucks, man. He was a good kisser till he tried to kill Jane,” she said. She gestured for him to come up. “C’mon, we’re hiding out up here. Go get your dog and the girl and we’ll talk.”

Clint nodded and, when he returned with Kate and Lucky, after some maneuvering to get Lucky over his shoulder and climb the ladder with a large dog and one arm to climb with, they went through the window to join the others. “Hi, I’m Kate,” Kate introduced, and Darcy waved.

“Darcy. Please tell me you’re not gonna kill us, cause I can’t handle it twice I one week,” she said matter-of-factly.

Clint shook his head, going to join them all around a small card table, sitting on upturned crates. “Look, I’m really lost, but from what I can tell, HYDRA has been in-“

“Infiltrating SHIELD for years? Yeah,” Jane said quickly. “I had enough data to put it together and basically, we’re really fucked!” She pointed to a spot on the table, gesturing as if explaining an imaginary graph. “Basically it’s like this from what I can tell- Fury is dead, Captain America was on SHIELD’s target list and now he’s disappeared so he may be dead, HYDRA was planning to use the new weaponized intellicarriers to predict future loyalties and take people out before they can become enemies and Captain America managed to take them down but he went down in one of them, Stark and Banner were on the target list after ALL of SHIELD’s secrets got leaked to the public-“ Clint paled at that news. “So within forty minutes of the information being leaked Stark and Banner had collected Pepper Potts and _disappeared_. The only news I have had in the last twelve hours is that SHIELD is gone. There were enough non-HYDRA members of SHIELD to expose all the HYDRA members so that they can’t claim to be SHIELD, and already anybody that’s useful from SHIELD has been reassigned to CIA, NSA, MI6, and various other spy organizations.”

Clint took a breath. “What do you know about what happened to the other senior agents besides Fury?”

Jane winced. “HYDRA targeted all level sevens and above in hopes that removing seniority would make it easier to ‘join or die’ the rest of them into joining HYDRA. It didn’t work, tons of lower level agents kicked HYDRA ass, but most of the non-HYDRA level sevens and above – which seems to be not many, even a lot of congress members are HYDRA - are dead. From what I heard the highest ranking member of SHIELD was Maria Hill and she went off grid after Fury was killed so she’s probably halfway to Russia by now.”

“My friend,” Thor started, sounding sympathetic. “I fear there is no news about your partner. None that we heard of before everything went quiet.”

Clint gritted his teeth and nodded. “I figured,” he said bitterly. “Fuck, if there was a sleeper agent in his team, if there was one person who was HYDRA, it’s entirely possible they’re all-“ He stopped, putting a hand over his face. “Okay, Jane, I know you’re not Tony Stark, but how are your tracking skills? If I can get you the computing power, could you start looking for signs of hidden SHIELD cells? We need allies. I need to find Natasha and I need to find my husband and step-daughter. If those three are alive, and if anybody from Phil’s team is alive, then we’ve got a start. Then we need to find Stark. He’s our best hope for safety because somebody that rich and famous is hard to touch. Once the dust settles, he’ll be able to take the time to check us all out and trust we’re not HYDRA.”

“Yeah, that’s the first place Clint went,” Kate supplied. “But Stark and Banner weren’t willing to risk the chance Clint was HYDRA there to kill them so they sent him looking for you, Thor, since you’re too much for HYDRA to handle so even if Clint was HYDRA you would be able to take him out.”

Jane nodded. “Yeah, if I can get the right equipment and the right internet connection, I can at least look for some SHIELD websites and radio frequencies to see if there’s anybody out there still online. I’m sure SHIELD has safe houses all over the world, and there have to be enough SHIELD operatives who didn’t get absorbed by CIA and stuff that we can at least start looking through the wreckage.”

Darcy raised a hand. “I can get right on Stark and Banner. Thor hooked me up with this really sweet facial recognition software for when we lose Erik and I can just plug in Tony Stark’s face and the last time he was on any camera in like the entire world, I can know about it. It won’t take us to wherever he’s hiding, but-“

“But it’ll give us a general area, good thinking,” Clint said, nodding. “Alright, you guys all stay here. I’m gonna go steal some things. Jane, scope out the area. Find somebody with really good fiber optics we can tap into. I’m assuming you can wire up an internet connection?”

She nodded. “Oh yeah, I build most of my equipment. That’s no big deal at all,” she said, already getting up to grab her jacket. “Darcy, sneak down the front with the dog. We’ll ‘take him for a walk’,” she said and Clint stopped to pet Lucky, who still looked weird with short hair.

 

“You be good for them, ya mutt,” he said, kissing Lucky’s head before heading to the fire escape. “Thor, Kate, if we’re not back soon, come looking for us,” he said seriously. “We don’t have time to bother with jail, so we’ll need you to break us out or bail us out.”

“Can do,” Kate said, saluting him.

Thor nodded. “We will await your return.”

~

Clint could see the surprise on Darcy’s face when she got back and found Clint sitting around what looked like half of a Radio Shack on the table. He grinned and winked. “Imagine how hard it was to climb through the window with it all.”

Jane came in through the window, and Clint raised an eyebrow. She held up a set of wires. “Across the alley, next building,” she said, unrolling the wires on her way to the table. “Alright, take this one,” she said, handing him a blue wire. “And attach it to the old TV antenna on the roof,” she said, nodding back to the window.

Clint raised an eyebrow. “TV antenna?”

Jane nodded. “I’m going to need a way to pick up SHIELD emergency radio frequencies. All the new stuff is digital, but if people are trying to keep HYDRA out, they’ll revert to radio.” She smiled and shook her head as she started wiring something. “People think I’m crazy for having a CB at all times, but when shit gets bad, people will always be able to revert to radio. All you need is a power source and you can use radio if there’s a tower near you, you know? The internet is far easier to disrupt than airwaves.”

Clint hummed. “You know, I have a feeling you and Skye would be great friends, but Tony would find your words personally wounding,” he said, and she laughed.

“I’m the Target to his Neiman Marcus, I’m pretty sure he’ll always find me personally wounding,” she added as she opened a laptop and turned it on. “Alright, get that done and we’ll start looking for SHIELD cells.”

~

Clint smirked as he sat leaning over Jane’s shoulder, the two of them watching footage from Tony’s house in Costa Rica (of course he had a house in Costa Rica) as they silently watched Tony and Bruce bickering over something while Pepper sat in the background with a hand on her forehead. Jane tapped the mic in her hand and grinned at Darcy over the monitor. “Hey JARVIS, can you patch me through, please?”

“Of course, Miss Foster, and may I impress upon you how pleased I am to hear you are alive,” JARVIS replied. Thor came around to kneel beside where Jane sat in Clint’s lap since they didn’t have but one chair, watching with an amused smile as JARVIS spoke where the ones on camera could hear him. “Sir, it appears we’ve been hacked by Miss Foster from Norway. She would like to speak with you.”

Pepper’s head snapped up and Bruce looked around, eyes wide. “Jane made it?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

Jane grinned. “Of course I made it, Bruce, who else do you know outside of that room with the abilities to escape the bad guys?”

Tony jumped up and stumbled over to look at what Clint assumed was them on video feed. “Barton! You’re alive! Thank God, cause Pepper was really sure me and Bruce had accidentally killed you.”

Bruce winced and gave him a little shrug from behind Tony. “Sorry, Clint.”

Clint scoffed. “Oh please, you see this awesome fake beard? I got to play dress up, it was way worth it!”

Kate came around the side of the table and glared over Clint’s head. “Well I’m not fuckin’ happy about playing dress up,” she said and Tony’s eyebrows went up.

“Whoa, Clint, who is the mini G.I. Jane?- wait, is that _Derek Bishop_ ’s daughter?” Tony asked in surprise. “You realize she’s been reported missing, right?”

Kate huffed. “Yeah well, HYDRA tried to fuckin’ kill me on my way to school and Clint’s the only person I knew to get help from. My dad can’t stop HYDRA but Clint could get me to safety.”

“Is that Thor I see over there?” Bruce asked, walking closer.

Thor leaned in further and smiled widely. “My friends! It appears we are all alive!”

Darcy came and hopped up behind Kate. “I’m alive too, thanks for asking,” she chirruped, flashing them a peace sign. “Whoa, hey, who’s the sexy lady in the background? I thought you two were bro-ing it up in Costa Rica?”

Clint rolled his eyes, snickering at the looks on all three faces on the screen. “That’s Pepper, Tony’s keeper,” he explained over his shoulder.

Lucky barked, jumping up beside Thor to put his chin on Thor’s shoulder. Jane smiled. “Lucky says ‘I’m alive, too!’” she added and Bruce smiled.

“I’m glad we’re not flying alone out here,” he said, looking at Tony. “So what do we do?”

Tony looked at the screen again. “Barton, any word?” he asked in a somber tone and Clint shook his head, eyes downcast.

“Darcy was busy finding you guys so we haven’t had time to do facial searches on Nat or Phil, but word is Cap might be dead,” Clint said somberly. “The news shows that he was last seen going down with those carriers at Triskelion.” Clint shook his head. “We know he can survive that, but we can’t take that as a sign he’s alive. Nat either since she was with him.” He leaned his chin on Jane’s shoulder. “Right now, we have to work under the suspicion that we’re all that’s left.”

“Not necessarily,” Darcy said, and they all turned to look at her. She nodded to the other side. “Radio frequencies show that there’s still some communication going on. Not much, but some. Most of the SHIELD agents who weren’t HYDRA have been absorbed by NSA and CIA but not _every_ one. For one thing, there’s some radio transmissions in Canada,” she pointed out. “A couple coming out of the Pacific. Somebody’s still out there and they’re not HYDRA,” she said.

Clint nodded. “Good. We’re gonna need help, that’s for sure,” he said, then shook his head. “But right now we need to get somewhere safe and together so we can really regroup.”

Kate looked up. “Stark, if you can get us the hell out of Norway, I have all the codes to my dad’s Island in French Polynesia, not far from Hao.”

Tony nodded. “Sure thing, Little Bit,” he said and Kate glowered. “I can bring all the fun toys!”

Jane grinned. “Better than what we’ve got,” she said, looking at their piles of tech. “Clint knocked over a computer store or something. We’ve got two laptops, a couple routers, I wired us into the local fiber optics, and we’re using an old TV antenna I repurposed to scan the radio signals-“

“Please stop, it hurts my soul,” Tony said, wincing comically. “I’ll give you half my toys, I promise, just find me the nearest airport, give me ten hours, and I’ll be there with a private jet in Derek Bishop’s name.”

~

Clint felt the way Lucky behaved by the time they landed on Derek Bishop’s island. Lucky was curled up on the floor of the jet, looking worn out and scared. Clint couldn’t help the part of him that hated putting the one thing he knew depended on him in the whole world through something so rough as their past few days of travel.

“Huh,” Clint muttered. “I think I just realized what it’s like to really be a parent,” he said and Jane raised an eyebrow. “I mean, obviously, I’m not really a parent, but…” He knelt down on the floor beside Lucky, hugging him close. “I’d do just about anything to let Lucky have a little time to relax and stop being so scared, and all of this is my fault. He depends on me and I’m putting him through hell,” he said, and Jane grinned.

“Awwww, but that’s good for you!” she said. “Yeah, he’s not like your kid or something, but it’s how it is when you’re responsible for another living things wellbeing.” She gestured to Darcy. “Trust me, I get it.”

Darcy huffed. “I resent that. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself-“

“You lit yourself on _fire_ last month,” Jane said. “With a _coffee maker_.”

Clint grimaced. “Ow,” he said sympathetically. 

“Alright, let me do the talking,” Kate said as she passed Clint. “Daddy’s security might need some talking to, but trust me, it’s nothing I couldn’t do in my sleep.”

When they disembarked, Kate went first, leading them all. Bruce took Lucky’s leash so that Clint could walk next to Kate when she headed towards the hangar where three security personnel were already walking out to meet them from the runway. “Nobody is authorized to land here, this is private- Miss Bishop?” the man out front asked in shock. “Miss Bishop, your father reported you missing!”

“Yeah well, I left him a message saying I was fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “What I need is for you to get me a car to the house.”

The head member of the team shook his head. “No can do, Miss Bishop. Your father-“

“My father knows I have access to every code on this island,” she interrupted. “My father will also undoubtedly be really unhappy to hear that I came here to escape the people after me and my friends and you turned me away.” She stepped closer. “Do you want to explain to Derek Bishop that his daughter got kidnapped because you refused to help her and her friends?”

He looked over her shoulder. “And does Mr. Bishop know you’re ‘friends’ with Tony Stark?” he asked her flatly and she rolled her eyes.

“My father knows that I have access to this island and you’re stopping me, regardless of who my friends are,” she pressed. 

“Uh, hi, hello,” Tony interrupted, stepping forward. “For the record, I resent that implication, Chuckles, she’s a little girl,” he said, making a face. “Ew, dude. Very ew.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “Is there really that much of a difference between her age and twenty-one year olds when it comes to you, Stark?” he asked and Tony rolled his eyes dramatically.

“I’ll have you know, I haven’t dated a twenty-one year old since I hit forty and realized I was old enough to be their _dad_ ,” he said dramatically. “Pepper and I are old enough to be this kid’s parents, okay? Let me once again say, _ew_.”

Kate sighed, shaking her head. “Look, do I have to call Daddy or not?” she asked, giving the security guards a threatening glare.

After a moment the man she was speaking with relented. “No, Miss. Right this way,” he said, leading them into the hangar so that they could take a care to the house.

When they got to the house and through the gates, Kate turned to Tony. “Look, we don’t have the kind of tech you’re used to, but we’ve got enough for you to work with. However, you’re on your own there. I haven’t had a shower in four days, I haven’t had more than a few hours’ sleep in four days. I’m going to take a bath, go to bed, and then I’ll deal with the rest of you tomorrow. Don’t break Daddy’s shit while I’m sleeping,” she all but threatened.

Clint yawned. “I’m with you, Katie-Kate. I’m down for food and sleep before we start on anything. We can afford to let the dust settle for the next six to eight hours at least.”

“I’ll at least get a message going around that two-thirds of the Avengers are alive and kickin’ and that three of the brightest minds outside of SHIELD control are working together. If anybody is still on SHIELD frequencies they’ll at least see that there’s somebody out there they can contact,” Jane said. “If we can get lines of communication between SHIELD agents still out there, we can get the process of regrouping started.”

Tony nodded. “If you put out the message that there’s still a decently strong faction – us – out there, by the time you get some sleep and we all are in a better and more refreshed headspace we’ll know if anybody’s listening.”

Clint scrubbed at his face. “Make sure your message includes that we need to establish a chain of command. They targeted upper level agents, so it’s very possible that, if his team is still out there, Phil’s the highest ranking SHEILD agent there is. If he’s dead, then it’ll be a Level 7 somewhere. Nat and I are Level 6 and there are a lot of Level 6’s but the Level 7 is harder to achieve. Phil’s a Level 8. There’s pretty much only a handful of Level 9’s and only two Level 10s now that Fury is dead. Phil’s team has two 7’s so even if Phil’s dead, one of his two might still be alive.”

Jane nodded. “Any replies from higher level agents will be priority.”

Tony winced. “You’ve got a lot of people out there that have been in deep cover that got exposed when SHIELD secrets were leaked to the public. Tons of operatives are exposed so we’ve got a lot of people being killed, we’ve got governments that will be demanding serious answers, and we’ve got to get some sort of SHIELD temporary unit in order to start trying and cover the shit storm that this has unleashed.”

Kate spoke up. “Nobody’s talking about it, but you’ve also got to face that SHIELD is done. It’s over and dead. There is no SHIELD anymore.”

Clint nodded, swallowing. “That’s a lot of people with sensitive information that are now just sitting ducks with nobody to call for help.” He looked at Tony. “Feel like looking back into the idea of privatizing world peace?”

Tony snorted. “Sadly, Buddy, that one backfired on me real bad. I don’t think it can be done.”

“Yeah,” Clint said, looking down at his hands. “I doubt it can.”

~

In the end it was the television that gave them news on Natasha finally. Clint was more than relieved to see Natasha on CSPAN at a committee hearing about her role in SHIELD’s downfall. “GUYS!” he shouted loudly, waking up anybody who was still asleep and alerting Stark, who was cooking breakfast. “GUYS, NAT’S ALIVE!”

Pepper and Bruce came rushing in, looking like they had already been awake. “What? Natasha’s okay?” Bruce asked, coming over to sit beside Clint. “Oh wow.”

“Did I just hear Compact Death is alive?” Tony asked, walking in just as the others stumbled blearily out of the bedroom where Thor, Jane, and Darcy had all crashed in one bed in a pile of sleepy people.

Clint laughed at Stark’s nickname. “Yeah, look,” he said, turning up the volume.

Just as they started listening to the people speaking starting in on Natasha’s past, Jane’s phone sounded an alert and she looked then gasped and rushed to the setup she and Stark had rigged on the table they had dragged around behind the couch. “Guys! We’ve got a ping!” Stark rushed over, leaning over her shoulder as she started typing. “Whoa, we’ve got lots of pings.” She moved so Tony could see. “We have three distress signals from Asia, two from Africa, one from somewhere in the middle of an ocean that’s very faint, and a few messages from-“ She stopped. “Is that a _selfie_ with a message?” she asked, looking surprised.

Tony laughed. “Bruce, you gotta see this,” he said, and Bruce walked over, leaning past him, only to smile in amusement. “Cap’s alive,” he said, looking up at Clint. “And he posted a selfie of himself and some black guy with a ‘glad you’re alive, but we’re busy’ and nothing else,” he said, and Clint rolled his eyes.

“Told you you shouldn’t have let him be teamed up with Natasha.” He looked down suddenly. “Nothing from Coulson?” he asked softly, eyes dimming a little.

“What are his aliases?” Kate asked suddenly, and he looked up, eyebrows raised. “C’mon, I know at least three of yours, Clint. You have to know his. If we search his aliases, we might get something.”

Tony nodded. “We can put a trace on them and if he uses them anywhere they have an online system we’ll have a general area or at least a confirmation he’s alive.”

Clint sighed, shaking his head. “It can’t hurt,” he said with a shrug. 

After listing Phil’s aliases, Clint went back to watching Natasha on TV, relieved to see his partner’s face even if she was thousands of miles away.

~

It didn’t take but half the list of aliases before Stark came and knocked on Clint’s temporary bedroom door. “Hey, look alive! One of your man’s aliases got used two days ago. They’re definitely in the US on the west coast. Their plane isn’t pinging so it’s unlikely they flew anywhere,” he said, and Clint nodded.

“Thanks, Tony,” he said, leaning back against the pillows on the bed.

Clint really hoped his husband and his step-daughter were okay.

~

In the end, it was an anonymous message sent to their broadcast setup that simply said, “Anybody still out there, get your stupid asses to ground quick and wait for further contact,” that made Clint reasonably sure that Fury was alive.

It was such a Fury thing to say.

However, his confirmation came when, in the middle of the night, Jane’s system of alarms went insane and they all woke up in a hurry, only to have an alert that an aircraft had landed on the island’s airstrip. Clint’s first thought was Hydra, so he and Kate got dressed, grabbed Clint’s weapons and the guns her father had left on the island and hitched a ride on the Asgardian express, only to land in the forest beyond the lights of the airstrip and see that it was a big, black plane that could only mean one thing.

“Is that it?” Kate asked, looking at the wide-eyed look on Clint’s face.

“It’s the Bus,” he said, then started out from the tree line. “Hang back, if it’s not them, shoot around me,” he said, keeping his gun drawn as he left the cover of the forest and walked right out onto the tarmac. When the cargo ramp stared to drop, he hesitated, almost terrified that, if it wasn’t them, he would completely fall apart, attack unnecessary. 

The first person down the ramp was Skye. She stopped when she spotted him, held up a hand to block the bright hangar lights, then seemed to realize it was him. “CLINT!” she shouted, then broke into a run. Clint’s heart leapt and he was hit with a wave of relief so strong his knees shook. He only managed a few weak, wobbly steps towards Skye before she barreled into him. He curled his arms around her, clinging tight, arms trembling as he pressed his face into her hair. “Oh God, I didn’t know if you were okay or if you were dead or if you were gone,” she babbled. She pulled back with a bright smile. “You’re okay,” she breathed and he nodded, grabbing her by the sides of her face.

“I am so happy to see you,” he said hoarsely, kissing her forehead before hugging her tight again. “Oh God, we’ve searched for you guys for _days_ and everybody else confirmed they were alive except your team,” he groaned. “I was so scared, I didn’t even know for sure you had survived the initial attack until we got a hit on Phil’s alias from a few days ago-“

“I should’ve known better than to resurrect the old Pablo Jiminez alias,” a calm voice said from just behind Skye. Clint lifted his head from her shoulder and Phil gave him a relieved smile as he walked to them. He looked Clint over, clearly searching for injuries. “Report, Barton,” he said and Clint let out a scratchy laugh, letting go of Skye. She smiled brightly and side-stepped just far enough for Phil to close the distance and for Clint to grab him and pull him into a harsh, almost desperate kiss.

Phil, to his credit, clenched one hand in the back of Clint’s shirt and the other he tangled in Clint’s hair, kissing back almost as desperately. Clint finally broke the kiss with a small whimper and tightened his arms around Phil’s neck, pressing his forehead to Phil’s. “Jesus, Phil, I was so sure I’d lost you again. So fucking sure,” he panted, eyes clenched shut. “I was so sure you were gone when days passed and there was no message. Even Director Fury got a message through us broadcast through the frequencies-“

“Wait, you guys have a network set up?!” Skye asked, and Clint turned to look at her. “From here?”

Clint nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got Jane Foster and Tony Stark and a shitload of wired together electronics. We already managed to gather a small rescue team to go after operatives who were in deep cover who got blown when SHIELD secrets went viral. I get why Nat did it, HYDRA was worth stopping, but there’s a team of two level threes and a level four with nothing but a few small arms and a stolen SHIELD helicopter in Malawi right now trying to rescue a couple of operatives who are on the run, there’s a pair of _level twos_ in Eastern Europe trying to get a level five out of a mobster’s prison, and there are others out there who are hiding and waiting for instructions after someone that could only be Director Fury told them to, and I quote, ‘get their stupid asses to ground and wait for contact’.”

“Former director Fury.” Clint pulled away from Phil and smiled when May walked up with Triplett and Simmons behind her. 

Clint frowned. “Former? But that message was-“

May shook her head. “He’s not dead, but he relinquished his position,” she said, giving Phil a small, proud smile, which for May Clint knew was the equivalent of pulling him into a hug and dancing around with him. “Rebuilding is going to be handled by Director Coulson now,” she said, and Clint turned to look at Phil with wide eyes.

Phil looked kind of sheepish but pleased. He shrugged. “I’m the most senior agent left. Weren’t many other options-“ Clint shut him up by kissing him suddenly, making him squeak in surprise. “Well now, so much for your hatred of authority-“

“There is nobody in this world better for the job,” Clint said with a shake of his head. He slid his fingers into Phil’s squeezing his hand. “If anybody was up to the task of rebuilding, it’s you, Sir. You’ve always been the most dedicated SHIELD agent there ever was.”

Phil raised an eyebrow. “To be so anti-teamwork, I’d say your work setting up a communications network proves you’re pretty dedicated, too,” he said and Clint shrugged.

“There’s a lot of men and women still out there,” he said softly. “I’m selfish, but I’m not one to stand by and just let people die because I’m too busy focusing on me and mine.”

Simmons walked closer. “Barton, do you have any idea what numbers we’re looking at?” she asked, holding a tablet. “We have very limited resources at present and an idea of what scale we’re starting with would help.”

Clint smirked. “Come on back to Casa Rich Guy Who Doesn’t Know We’re Here and you can find out for yourself.” He turned and looked back at the tree line. “KATIE-KATE! THOR! Go make sure the others are up and running and put some food and coffee on,” he shouted, and they saw a flashlight glint in return before something shot through the rustling palms and into the night sky. 

Phil raised an eyebrow. “Thor and Kate are well, I see.”

Clint grinned. “Long story but the short version is, this is Kate’s Dad’s island and the ‘we’ that’s here is me, Kate, Thor, Jane, Darcy, Stark, Banner, and Pepper Potts. And Lucky, but he’s very unhappy with us after all the traumatic travel.” Clint looked over their group and frowned. “We’re missing a couple, aren’t we?” he asked, and Phil’s expression grew solemn. Clint gave him a sympathetic look, squeezing his hand, and Phil just sighed, leaning into him some.

“Let’s get to the house and regroup, then we’ll all sit down and talk about the sitrep,” he said, and the others took his word and started back to the plane to gather stuff and load the SUV. Clint just smiled faintly, still staring at Phil like he was going to disappear if he blinked. “That okay?” Phil asked, and Clint’s smile slid into a smirk.

“Whatever you say, Director,” he all but purred and Phil chuckled and shook his head, kissing Clint’s cheek once more before going to help the team with the unload. Clint caught up and put a hand on his shoulder briefly, saying all that he needed to in that one, simple touch. They had a hell of a mission ahead of them, but they were ready for whatever came their way. They always were. If you asked Clint, that’s what being a SHIELD agent was about. Taking what you had and doing what had to be done for the good of the world. 

And that’s exactly what they planned to do.


End file.
